EVIDENCE OF POSSIBLE FRAUDULENT ASYLUM CLAIM-

UNCLAS E F T O YEREVAN 000678 SENSITIVE NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR CA/VO/F/P (MEEARL) AND CA/FPP (RSBILLINGS) USCIS FOR HQ ASYLUM BRANCH (KTURO AND KMACK) MOSCOW FOR USCIS (SSINCLAIR-SMITH) FRANKFURT FOR RCO (KBROUGHAM) AND ICE (GSPINDEL) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AM CVIS KFRD PHUM PREF SUBJECT: EVIDENCE OF POSSIBLE FRAUDULENT ASYLUM CLAIM- ALEKYAN, RUZAN (DOB 27JAN1947) A99587355 THIS CABLE CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU/NF) Summary: Evidence has come to light during a Visa 92 following-to-join interview that suggests Ms. Ruzan Alekyan, Alien registration number A99587355 submitted a fraudulent claim for asylum. As per 9 FAM Appendix O, 1207.2-5(A),Post is reporting these details to CA/VO/F/P, CA/FPP and USCIS. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU/NF) Armenian citizen Ms. Ruzan Alekyan entered the U.S. in B2 status on 08MAY2005 and claimed asylum approximately two months after her B1/B2 status had expired on 29DEC2005. The basis for his claim to asylum was persecution, threats, beatings and detention she had received as a result of her participation in a gathering of people outside a government building to petition for support for assistance to single mothers. Specifically, Ms. Alekyan noted in her I-589 statement that this gathering took place on June 1, 2004 and that later she received a death threat from uniformed officers as they shot and killed her dog. She(##)case file including Ms. Alekyan,s I-589 application for asylum. The consular officer asked Mr. Yengibaryan about his life in Armenia and if he or his wife had ever experienced any persecutions or beatings while living in Armenia. Mr. Yengibaryan stated repeatedly that his wife had had no problems in Armenian. He was unable to describe a single event or to describe any situation that created a problem for his wife. He stated that he was not aware of her problems as she did not tell him. The consular officer verified that he had been living with his wife continuously since their marriage in 1971 and that they regularly communicated about the events of their day. The only facts that he was able to provide were that once (no date given) a woman was arguing with his wife near their house and that their dog was shot. The allegedly shooting occurred in a location other than their home and he never actually saw the dog after it died. In addition, he did not say that the dog was shot in front of his wife and she was receiving a death threat, as Ms. Alekyan states in her I-589 statement. When asked if he himself had experience any problems in Armenia, he told a success story of how after the fall of the Soviet Union he founded an NGO, received a Eurasia grant and then successfully ran his new company. ¶4. (SBU/NF) Given the conflicting information provided by Norik Yengibaryan, Post suspects that Rusan Alekyan,s original claim for asylum was fraudulent. Mr. Alekyan stated in her I-589 that she was beaten by the security police and received death threats. Post finds it highly unlikely that a husband would not have noticed if his wife had been beaten and that he would not have been aware of death threats against her. Mr. Yengibaryan was asked to sign a sworn statement saying that he was not aware of his wife having any serious problems here in Armenia. He agreed and instead wrote a vague statement saying that she had been threatened. When asked to provide additional details about how she was threatened (by phone, by mail, how often) the applicant had no additional information to offer. It appeared to the interviewing officer that the applicant had been prepped to say that his wife had experienced problems in Armenia but that there were no actual facts to back up the vague claims he made. As a result of these inconsistencies, Post concludes that Ms. Alekyan,s I-589 includes misrepresentation of the circumstances upon which the asylum claim rests. Post believes this new information necessarily casts doubt on the facts of record in this case. ¶5. (SBU/NF) To preserve the principal applicant's confidentiality, the questions put to Norik Yengibaryan were all factual questions to confirm information for the record. The consular officer's questioning was such that she never stated that Ms. Alekyan had received asylum or intimated that one reason for his departure from Armenia was that Mr. Alekyan had difficulties in Armenia. Nonetheless, the (##)received asylum status in the U.S. Norik Yengibaryan was interviewed in a private room where no one could overhear the conversation. ¶6. (SBU/NF) Post will issue Mr. Norik Yengibaryan's YY transportation foil upon receipt of missing documents, as he qualifies for Visa 92 following-to-join status in all other respects. His information is as follows: Mr. Norik Yengibaryan (husband),DOB 02 JAN 1945, Alien Registration Number 88259236; Mr. Norik Yengibaryan's intended address in the United States is c/o of the petitioner Ms. Rusan Alekyan 29 Melvilly Road, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, 02664. ¶7. (U) Post point of contact is Vice Consul Laura S. Conaway, ConawayLS@state.gov. YOVANOVITCH / / / / / / /